I get what he’s trying do as far as building the culture with the juice crew. He wants all of our guys to stay positive during adversity in the game and support the guys out on the field. He wants the guys on the sidelines to actually seem involved and seem to care. There have been times in games before (going back through multiple coaching regimes) where at times during the games it has felt like the fans cared more than the players. I remember one UGA game under CCG where, based on their demeanor, the sideline didn’t seem to even care their hated rivals were dominating them. I actually love the idea behind the juice crew. I love getting the whole team focused on the game and staying positive to help the guys on the field.
However, the execution in this idea seems flawed. One, the constant dancing and jumping around for the sake of being “juice” actually comes off equally (if not more) unfocused on the game. Dance when Tobias gets a first down on the potential game winning drive. Don’t dance as Lucas takes a sack the very next play(this actually happened). I don’t know if they are just trying to get a good grade and constantly dancing, but you can stay upbeat and energized on the sideline while also reacting to the game accordingly.
Two, I don’t know if I like the idea behind “grading” players on this. Everyone is different. Everyone will react to certain things differently. The number one job as a leader is to learn how to lead your team which often means you have to learn different ways to motivate different people. Assuming less dancing and jumping is less invested in the game is simply not a correct view of human behavior. It reminds me of church. Some people get the “juices” flowing at church. Some people just stand there with their eyes closed. Maybe they sing a little. Maybe they don’t. Is the preacher going to go up to those not jumping for joy and tell them they are going to Hell? If a player isn’t wired as the “Jump for Joy” type I can easily them forcing it to get a good grade, which again, leads to being equally, if not less, focused on the game. Or they don’t do it and get a bad grade and get discourage or jaded.